1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an awning to be fit to an open cabin of a cruiser or recreational boat whose upper side is open.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, there is a cruiser that has a main cabin with a steering which is open to the air, a cruiser that has a flying deck (called a flying bridge, also) with a steering which is provided on the roof of a main cabin, and a cruiser having a cabin whose upper side is open (hereinafter, such as cabin is referred to as an open cabin).
Since the upper side of such an open cabin is open, a steersman can enjoy a refreshing sense of freedom during steering.
However, when steering in such an open cabin, a steersman may be exposed to a strong head wind, sprayed by the waves, or exposed to sunlight, so an enclosure is installed in the open cabin in order to enclose the steering seat and protect the steersman.
There are various types of enclosures, and most of them are formed so that transparent vinyl sheets are spread via fasteners on the front face and both side faces of a main frame constructed in the form of a box on the open cabin, and a shielding sheet is spread on the top face of the main frame. Therefore, such an enclosure does not have a good external appearance since the box-shaped enclosure projects from the streamlined hull.
Furthermore, the enclosure is ventilated by opening the fasteners of the transparent vinyl sheets, however, the cruiser is typically anchored while being left exposed to rain at a marina, so that the transparent vinyl sheets may deform due to changes in temperature and other environmental conditions making smooth opening and closing of the fasteners difficult.
To solve the abovementioned problems such as a poor appearance of the enclosure and a difficulty in opening and closing the fasteners of the enclosure in the conventional art, in the present invention, a roof cover with a light shielding effect is provided so as to hang down toward the front side at the upper side of the open cabin of the cruiser, a transparent window panel is provided and inclined so as to be in parallel with said roof cover, said window panel is made to freely open and close by sliding in a space between the front end of the roof cover and the front portion of the open cabin that is provided at the front side of the roof cover, the opening and closing operability of the window panel is excellent, and in particular, when closing the window panel, the awning is made to have a streamlined form so that wind flows down forward from the window panel to the roof cover.
In short, according to the invention, since the roof cover 3 having a light shielding effect is disposed so as to hang down forward at the upper side of the open cabin 2, the roof cover is in good harmony with the streamlined cruiser C, and can be used as a roof with an excellent appearance in comparison with the conventional box-shaped enclosure.
In addition, air resistance against a head wind heading for the open cabin 2 is relieved by the inclination of the roof cover 3 to reduce the pitching and rolling of the cruiser C due to the head wind, whereby the steering is made excellent.
Since the space X between the front end of the roof cover 3 and the front portion of the open cabin 2 is freely opened and closed by sliding the transparent window panel 4 disposed and inclined so as to be in parallel with the roof cover 3, the space X can be opened and closed by the easy operation of sliding the window panel 4 in comparison with the conventional opening and closing means by means of fasteners that are troublesome to open and close, whereby, in the condition where the window panel 4 is opened, wind can be allowed to blow in the steering sheet of the open cabin 2, and a steersman can feel a refreshing sense of freedom.
Furthermore, in the condition where the window panel 4 is closed, the form becomes an excellent streamline in appearance in which inclination continues from the window panel 4 to the roof cover 3 in comparison with the conventional type, the field of view is good, and a strong head wind and the sea spray can be avoided, so that the cruiser C can be steered with no problem.
A pair of parallel rods 8 and 8a disposed in parallel at the right and left are provided on the lower ends of the side frames 12 and 12a supporting the roof cover 3, and the parallel rods 8 and 8a are connected via the attaching and detaching means 24, 24a . . . to the handrails C1 and C1a provided at the left and right of the open cabin 2, so that the awning 1 can be attached to the existing handrails C1 and C1a without providing and fixing an attaching member exclusive for the awning 1, and the attaching work becomes easy.
The awning can be easily removed from the open cabin 2 as necessary.
Moreover, since the rear end of the roof cover 3 is extended so as to cover the upper side of the rear deck C4, the shading area of the roof cover 3 can be expanded not only to the steering sheet but also to the extent up to the rear deck C4, and this roof cover 3 also shields the rear deck C4 from sunlight and rain. Therefore, the practical effect of the invention is great.